


Putting Things in Perspective

by niennavalier



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: +1, 5+1, 5+1 Fic, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Humor, Introspection, M/M, POV Multiple, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-27
Updated: 2016-05-27
Packaged: 2018-07-10 15:18:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6990781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niennavalier/pseuds/niennavalier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one time Leonard Snart didn't mean to steal something, and the five people who witnessed the crime.</p><p>Or, alternatively: The five people who witness Leonard Snart and Barry Allen finding out they're Soulmates in the middle of the Precinct, and the one person stuck in interrogation trying to pretend none of it had happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Putting Things in Perspective

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Взгляни на все с другой стороны](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12674091) by [Kotokoshka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kotokoshka/pseuds/Kotokoshka)



> Based on [ this tumblr post ](http://coldflash-only.tumblr.com/post/137970199931/soul-mate-au-where-you-you-find-your-soul-mate) that I saw and kinda loved wherein you find your soulmate through touch, and that happens to Len and Barry in the Precinct. I made some slight changes to the original, but it's pretty small (and slightly more angsty, but not by much). Also partly prompted by a friend, who wanted to see how a handful of different characters would react to this.
> 
> Last thing: Lisa knows Barry's the Flash in this, but Len doesn't. That'll make sense soon, promise.

1.

     Joe West was livid. The scene that’d just gone down in the Precinct? He was not okay with it. Leonard Snart just happening to lose his footing so he could conveniently fall into his son of all people, and having the guts to smirk as Barry reached out to catch him? If they weren’t around a bunch of cops, Joe would’ve been ready to sock him in the jaw just for that.

     Except then Barry was letting out a cry of pain, and Joe was really ready to have a go at Snart for hurting his son. Probably would’ve, if not for the fact that both Snart and Barry were clutching at their own hands like they’d been burned, and Joe didn’t even want to look.

     Soulmates.

     Unbelievable.

     He didn’t know what kind of sick game the Universe was playing, but he wasn’t about to stand for it. There was no way in Hell he was gonna let this happen.

     Because what kind of father would he be if he let this low-life just go and use his son for whatever he wanted? Yeah, now Barry was the Flash and he could take care of his own well-being, but he was also Joe’s son.

     Snart was a manipulative son of a bitch, and Joe wasn’t gonna let him hurt that boy any more than he already had been as a kid. Barry didn’t deserve that kind of treatment – what he deserved was someone a million times better than Snart.

     Over his dead body would he ever let this happen.

     It took a few minutes for anyone in the lobby of the Precinct to start moving again, the cops pushing Snart along to be processed, but the way they watched Barry wasn’t lost on Joe. Hell, _he_ was watching Barry, too, watching the way he ran his fingers over the new Mark on his hand, watching that look in his eyes.

     That was how Joe knew he had to talk to Barry. The boy was a romantic, no one could deny, and Joe wouldn’t be surprised if he started looking for something in Snart that he was never gonna find. As much as he admired the optimism in Barry’s nature, Joe realized he was gonna have to be the bad guy here, as much as he didn’t like it.

     Because this? The Flash and Captain Cold? They couldn’t get together. There was no was it would ever work, ever last. But Barry wasn’t gonna ever see that on his own. Hence why Joe was gonna have to _make_ him see it, cause the last thing he wanted was to see his son hurt.

     “Barr! Mind if we talk for a minute?”

* * *

 

2.

     Mick Rory knew it wasn’t often he was thoughtful. Not like he wasn’t capable of it – he just preferred to let his partner do all the thinking. Less complicated that way, and he got to light stuff on fire anyway. Far as the cops knew, that was the only thing in the world he was really able to do.

     So he could only guess what the poor bastard watching him from the observation room thought, watching him wait for interrogation, especially after the show he’d put on back in the lobby. It was an entertaining thought, for sure. He chuckled at it (half-hoping the badge watching him was having a heart attack or something) before returning to his original train of thought. He hadn’t been able to see all of what’d happened, but that kinda tense silence he’d heard behind him only happened for one thing. When he’d found out it’d been Snart and that CSI kid, well, he’d been pissed. Didn’t want the cops poking around in his and Snart’s business any more than any other con. ‘Til he’d heard some of the other guys talking about their surprise over “Cinnamon roll Allen’s Soulmate”, and that’d gotten him actually thinking, ‘cause he had a lot of time to do a hell of a lot of nothing in here.

     The kid was a CSI; had to have seen some gore, so he probably wasn’t as much of a pushover as everyone seemed to think. That, at least, helped make some of the pieces settle into place a little better. But the kid was probably still pretty sweet, if his eavesdropping on that nickname had proven anything. And the more Mick rolled that over in his head…maybe the kid being a little sweet might be what Snart needed. Yeah, he’d thought before that any of their Soulmates would have to be badasses just to survive, but the more the truth sunk in, the more sense it made. Cause Snart’d had to deal with a lot of shit since he was a kid; Mick knew that enough to say that his partner didn’t need to suffer any more than he already had. Lewis Snart had been the biggest asshole the world had ever seen – a literal monster – and, for as much as Snart liked to hide it, Mick could see the scars his partner still carried around, even if neither of them would ever bring it up.

     Mick Rory knew how to read people, so he knew Snart wasn’t gonna go talk to the kid. Nah, at this rate, he’d be back at the safe house by tomorrow morning, planning something new, pretending like nothing had happened. Mick was pretty sure that’d leave him with the job of bullying his partner into sucking it up and just talking to his Soulmate.

     Not like this Allen kid was off the hook, though. Cause Mick didn’t know him, not really, despite all he could guess. And if he ever found out this punk did anything to hurt his friend, well, things would get nice and simple after that.

     He’d kill him.

* * *

 

3.

     If anyone had gone up to Cisco Ramon on any given day of the week, he felt like he could answer pretty confidently that he was very used to weird things happening. Well, okay, if, say, Doc and Marty turned up in his living room one day, then fine, he’d be confused. But on a regular Tuesday afternoon, after their normal dose of the very not-normal, Cisco was certain nothing was gonna phase him.

     The call from Joe very quickly changed that.

     What he’d thought could be a “Hey, what’s up?” kind of conversation had suddenly got super serious because _Barry’s Soulmate was Captain Cold?_

     Woah. He definitely hadn’t seen that one coming.

     They’d hung up a few minutes ago, Joe having called Cisco to try and employ him in talking to Barry, who had apparently “refused to listen to reason”, and the whole thing had kept Cisco munching on his licorice, deep in thought. Not necessarily because he was trying to figure out how the Universe had paired up two nemeses, but because he wanted to be prepped for how to help out Barry when he’d get back to STAR Labs after he was done at the Precinct. It wasn’t like his own situation was exactly the same, but after hearing what Joe had had to say on the topic (and totally disagreeing with him), Cisco was feeling slightly more qualified to speak on it.

     A high pitched clicking of heels alerted Cisco to someone else’s presence in the building, and he grinned as he spun around in his lone chair in the cortex. “You’re never gonna guess what just happened.”

     “Lenny and Barry are Soulmates?” Lisa Snart answered, more a statement than a question as she sauntered in.

     Cisco gaped. “…You’re scary good at this game. You sure you’re not a metahuman? Like, psychic powers or something, cause, you know, that’d be awesome.”

     She smiled, draping herself onto one of the other unused chairs. “Would that make you love me even more, Cisco?”

     “Part of me thinks yes, because having a Soulmate with superpowers would be pretty dope, but I’m pretty sure I’m already at max capacity when it comes to loving you.” Cisco grinned, leaning back in the chair.

     “Smart and sexy, Cisco. Smart and sexy.”

     “I know. The ladies just can’t get enough.” He raised his chin a little higher.

     “Guess it’s a good thing we know you’re mine,” Lisa smirked, leaning forward and cupping his jaw, a perfect imitation of the flirtatious touch that had given them their own Marks.

     “Hey, I’m all cool with that,” Cisco kept on grinning as they kissed, quick and teasing. “You know, am I the only one who finds it funny that the Snarts seem to have a thing for nerds? Not like I’m complaining, though, cause I’m totally not.”

     Lisa laughed at that, lounging back in the chair. “Oh, Lenny is _such_ a closet nerd. He’ll be giving poor Barry a run for his money.”

     “Nuh uh. You know we’re talking Mr. ‘I-Have-Wrath-of-Khan-Quote-Wars-With-Cisco’, right?”

     “I know,” came the reply, too nonchalant to be faked.

     “No way,” Cisco couldn’t help but laugh as he spoke, hands folded in front of his nose and eyes lighting up like a kid in a candy store. “Wait, wait, hold on a sec,” he backtracked, his earlier, derailed train of thought now getting back on track, “so, how was it that you found out they’re Soulmates?”

     “Lenny called me right before I got here.”

     “Wait, do supervillains actually get that one phone call? Or is that cause of the Soulmates thing?”

     “How would I know, Cisco?” Lisa shrugged, reminding Cisco of her spotless record, and he nodded in assent. “Besides, it’s not every day you find your Soulmate in a police precinct.” She cocked her head at him for a moment, eyes narrowing. “Weren’t you there to see it?” Her eyes flickered down to the box at Cisco’s feet, currently holding the cold and heat guns.

     “Nah, happened after I left to get these babies back home. Joe called me.”

     “And why would Joe West be calling you?”

     “Wants me to ‘talk some sense into Barry’.” Cisco air-quoted, rolling his eyes slightly.

     “And you’re not going to?” Lisa asked, the slightest bit of worry for her brother slipping into her tone.

     “Nope,” he popped the _‘p’_. “I mean, it’s not like he knows about us and how we got things worked out and all good, even with you knowing about Barry and the Flash. So I figured we can, you know, help stuff get sorted out along the way, cause we _are_ kinda the resident experts on how to make this sort of thing work.”

     “Honestly though,” Lisa relaxed again, “Lenny has a big enough crush on the Flash. This won’t be too hard.”

     “And it’s not like they don’t flirt all the time while they’re in costume.”

     “Although Lenny likes to say it’s not flirting, it’s _bantering_.”

     “What?! Barry said the same thing!”

     The two conspirators looked each other in the eye and grinned simultaneously. This would be fun.

* * *

 

4.

     Iris West was pissed. Really, it was just a lucky thing her phone was still in one piece, crushed in her fist the way it was. She hadn’t been at the Precinct today, but she’d heard all of what’d happened from Barry himself, who was still waiting on the other end of the line for her opinion on it all.

     Which would have to wait for another minute while she parsed through everything.

     Including what her father had had to say about what’d happened.

     Because, no, she wasn’t really mad that it had turned out Barry and Leonard Snart were Soulmates. Was she vaguely concerned? Yes, a little, but that had to be normal. Mad? No. She did have faith in the Universe and the way it chose Soulmates, especially after it had brought her and Eddie together the way it had. As far as she could tell, there was always a reason for two people being Soulmates, no matter how it might seem to everyone else. So she figured that there was some sort of reason behind this, too, that there was some way that Barry and Snart were somehow meant to end up together. That, she had little problem accepting.

     No, what had really hurt was listening as Barry recounted everything her dad had told him. Everything about how this wouldn’t work, how it could never in a million years turn out right. How he would never let Barry pursue this, no matter what Barry’s own thoughts on the subject were, because he seemed absolutely sure that this thing? It was meant to end badly for everyone involved. How he was never gonna let Barry and Snart see each other – “over his dead body”. Because it was safer that way.

     But the way Barry told the story? She knew he didn’t agree with him. She knew he wouldn’t just give up on his Soulmate so easily; Barry was a better person than that. (Damn it, she wouldn’t have needed to even hear his voice to know that he wouldn’t agree to that!) But there was just this brokenness, this dejection, this desperation all there coloring his words, all simultaneously breaking Iris’ heart and fueling her rage.

     Oh, she and her father would definitely be having words about this later.

     Because, really? This wasn’t his choice to make; it was Barry’s, and Barry’s alone. And she knew that, whatever he chose, she would be there to support him every step of the way, supervillain Soulmate and overprotective fathers be damned.

     She finally responded to a waiting Barry. “Just go talk to him. I know what Dad said, but it doesn’t matter. You will go see this guy.” _But if he does hurt you_ , she added the last part silently to herself, _I’ll be there to kick his ass, fancy cold gun or not._

* * *

 

5.

     Eddie Thawne was…perplexed, to put it lightly. Actually, it was definitely more than perplexed, but it was the best word he could think of in the moment. And in the next ten minutes following. To be honest, he questioned whether his brain had just shut down entirely at that point. Because…he was lost. Very lost.

     Not that standing in the observation room, looking through the one-way mirror into the interrogation room was actually helping much either, but hey – it made him feel like he was doing something. Or trying, at least.

     Okay, he was gonna try to sort through his own head. Not like he was gonna be able to walk into that room until he could figure out his own brain, much less Snart’s. And what good would an interrogation be in that case?

     Objectively, he knew how the whole Soulmate thing worked. He’d gone through it already with Iris, liked to trace the Mark her hand had left on his the first time they’d touched. And he hadn’t questioned it – most people didn’t question what the Universe set up for them.

     But then the Universe threw them all a curveball. Because…Barry Allen and Leonard Snart?

     He glanced into the room again, just watching as he tried to connect the dots (the operative word being _tried_ ). The man was sitting at the table, lazily taking in the details of the room, hands occasionally fiddling or drumming on the metal surface. Cold and calculating and _how could this be Barry’s Soulmate?_ Barry who couldn’t hurt a fly and stumbled over his words and could quote back _Firefly_ word for word (which, yes, Eddie had once witnessed with equal parts respect and concern). Barry who worked with the CCPD to help bring in the guy who would end up being his Soulmate?

     Wow, that was twisted.

     Except, apparently, Fate wanted it to work. And while Eddie wasn’t a big fan of the whole “Fate” idea, he had to admit, there was something about Soulmates – they operated with different rules or something.

     But that all just circled back to the same question: how? (Eddie really wasn’t a fan of that word anymore. He would take a vow to never use it again. That was a plan he could get behind).

     Maybe there was something to Snart no one knew? Robin-Hood-ing it and giving all that money to the poor? Charity? Saving the bees?

     Okay, Eddie could admit the last one was ridiculous, but glancing through the window again…yeah, nope. He didn’t see it.

     Although, to be fair, he was pretty sure no other cop in the Precinct did either. So when the door opened, he was completely ready to speculate with the next guy who walked into the room.

     Only for the words to die in his throat when he saw who it was. “Oh, uh, hey Barry. You need something?”

* * *

 

+1

     Leonard Snart was going through contingency plans. Originally, if he and Mick were to be brought in, Lisa would’ve been the one to free them while they were en route to Iron Heights. All the details had been ironed out; even so, he’d gone in with Plan B and beyond, should the need have arisen.

     But then the game had changed again, because the last thing he had expected was to find his Soulmate while being arrested.

     There was a chance they would let him off because of it. The public worship of Soulmates might work to his advantage, if he’s lucky enough. At the very least he’s sure he can squeeze a few favors out of it, hopefully get Mick out of there with him.

     And as for knowing that he’s Bonded to that kid who works for the cops? He files that away. With Lisa and Ramon Bonded, he’d met this kid a couple times, knew well enough that he deserved better than Len anyway. Best they both just move on with their lives, pretend none of this had ever happened.

     Except that the kid came walking through the door, Len keeping up his icy front, hiding how his heart jumped to his throat. “Why, hello Barry.” He smirked, amused at the blush creeping all the way down the kid’s neck. “Come to have a little chat? Where’s Detective Pretty Boy? Thought they’d be sending him in here to interrogate me.”

     “Eddie? He…uh,” Barry stammered, somehow turning even redder, “I asked him if I can talk to you? Just for a couple minutes. About…you know…” He scratched at the back of his neck as Len narrowed his eyes, head cocked to the side slightly in consideration. “Oh!” Barry explained, mistaking Len’s look for discomfort, “He’s not watching us or anything like that, if that’s what you thought.”

     “It’s not, but thanks for the heads-up, Scarlet,” Len smirked, enjoying making the kid blush altogether too much.

     Barry’s reaction, however, was entirely unexpected. The blush drained away, and his expression turned almost…scandalized? “You _know_?” Barry leaned forward, voice suddenly changing to a low hiss, the annoyingly endearing CSI disappearing entirely. And wasn’t that interesting?

     “Know what?” Len probed, Barry spluttering in response.

     “Um, nothing. Nope, nothing at all.” The flustered CSI was back again, but Len was already busy sorting through all the information he had on Barry Allen, between his own research and what he’d gathered through Lisa and Ramon’s relationship, scarce though that was. Mid-twenties, bright, observant, compassionate. His mother murdered in his childhood, his father in jail for it, the kid himself struck by lightning just under a year ago. Nine-month long coma, started working with the Flash shortly after waking up…

     And wasn’t that an odd coincidence? Helping out the Flash – Central City’s Scarlet Speedster…

     Oh. _Ohh._ Len grinned – it really was a miracle no one else had figured out the kid’s secret identity by this point. It was probably a miracle he had a secret identity at all, even just a few months in.

     Barry, on the other hand, just dropped his head to his hands with a groan.

     “Well then, _Scarlet_ ,” he emphasized the nickname with a smirk and leaned forward, sure that Barry would understand his intention, “I think we can keep this little thing a secret between us, hm?”

     “What do you want, Snart?” And suddenly the Flash was back again. Len cocked his head to the side. Barry Allen really was more of an enigma than he’d thought, though he was surely right in that the kid wore his heart on his sleeve. The annoyance was written clear on his face, and there was the hint of something more stirring below the surface.

     “Oh, nothing much. Just let me and my partner walk free, and I won’t talk. I’m sure you can speed up the process, can’t you?” Len grinned.

     Barry rolled his eyes, but the cogs were clearly turning in his head. “Fine,” he said, after some hesitation, “I’ll see what I can do.” Another pause, and Len waited. “But, um, don’t you think we should figure out _this_?” Barry pointed back and forth between them. “Cause, I mean, we _are_ Soulmates.”

     “And?”

     “Don’t you care? To see if we can get something worked out?”

     Len leveled a glare at the kid. “You work for the cops, and I’m a criminal. How _exactly_ is that supposed to work?”

     “Well, I figure the Universe didn’t just stick us together for no reason.”

     “And if the ‘powers that be’ just made a mistake?” Len shot back, the response coming naturally.

     But he caught the pained looked that fired through Barry’s eyes before he shrugged, trying to hide whatever he’d felt just then. “I dunno. Can’t know until we try, right?”

     Amid the inflections Len couldn’t quite make out, he could hear the hope flooding the kid’s voice above all, and that made it just that much harder to say no. Aside from the fact he could almost hear Lisa’s voice in his head, screaming at him to _just take this cutie to dinner already!_ So, as the tension diffused, he nodded in assent, and spoke slowly, deliberately. “Fair point. How’s dinner, tomorrow night? We can get this thing squared away.”

     “Alright then.” Barry smiled cautiously and stood. “Lemme just go tell the Captain and I’ll be back.” He was already opening the door with those last words, and as it shut behind him, Len sighed.

     Nothing was going to plan anymore, but when had they when the Flash was involved?

* * *

 

 _Bonus_ +1 (Epilogue, a few years later…)

    “Is it scary?”

    “Hm?” Barry looked up from the last of the reports he’d been working on for the past few minutes, the ones he’d closed not to finish off at Flash speed. In the past, he might’ve been too impatient - too advantageous - to do anything at less than maximum velocity, but he’d learned since then that there was something to slowing down, appreciating the little things. “Is what scary?”

    Michael’s eyes were on him, no longer focused on the book in his hands. “Soulmates.”

    “I think you’ve still got a few years before you’re gonna have to worry about that.” There was a while before he’d hit the magic age of eighteen, at which point the Universe had decided soulmates were old enough to find their Bond, but Barry smiled nonetheless, tossing the folder onto the coffee table and crawling along the couch to sit next to Michael. “What about Soulmates though?”

    “Everything, I guess.” Michael shrugged. Despite being only nine years old, the boy wasn’t just intensely curious, but had an intelligence and intuition to back it up. Barry figured he shouldn’t be surprised, considering who his father was.

    “Everything?” Barry laughed. “There’s a lot about Soulmates. Gonna be kinda hard to try and tell you everything at once. How about one thing at a time?”

    Michael paused a moment, quietly thoughtful. “What if...they don’t like you? Your Soulmate?”

    At that, Barry glanced down, smiling, rubbing a finger idly along his wedding band. “Have I told you how your father and I met?”

    The reaction was incredible, Michael’s eyes lighting up immediately. “Tell me!”

    Another bubble of laughter escaped from Barry’s chest. “If you say so -”

    “I hope you’re not filling our son’s head with your ridiculous fantasies, Scarlet.” Len appeared, leaning against the doorway to the kitchen where he was cooking dinner, idly wiping his hands on a towel (Barry couldn’t have described how happy he’d been to find out Len could cook; the place smelled _amazing_ ). That damn smirk was on his face, and Barry couldn’t help but grin back challengingly.

    “‘Ridiculous fantasies’? And what words would you use to describe our entire lives? I’d say ‘ridiculous’ and ‘fantasy’ work pretty well.” He felt Michael giggle at his side, being already aware of the hero business both Barry and Len got into on a weekly basis, and they both took that as more than enough indication that Barry had won _that_ argument.

    Of course, Barry didn’t miss Len’s subtle, annoyed head shake in response, but as the man dropped onto the couch at Michael’s other side, his eyes softened, the way they always did around his family, while he, too, fingered his own ring. “Definitely living a fantasy, aren’t we?” Blue eyes met hazel, and Barry reached out to grip Len’s hand with his own, the two men sharing a soft smile.

     “What were you talking about?” Both Barry and Len looked to Michael at the same moment, noticing only then how their son watched everything passing between the two of them. “Auntie Lisa and Auntie Iris said you love each other, and you do!” Barry and Len shared another quick glance. Of course their sisters would still meddle in their love lives, even after they were already together. “How would either of you know about if your Soulmate hated you?”

     “Well, I think _Flash_ here was about to tell you a story, weren’t you, Scarlet?” Len smirked.

     “Right up ‘til you interrupted, _Captain Cold_ ,” Barry teased right back, “You and your nefarious ways.” Michael laughed at that, already aware of Len’s criminal history, even if he didn’t know all the details, getting dropped into Len’s life after he’d been recruited by Rip Hunter. For all he knew, Len had already been a part of this whole hero/anti-hero gig since long before.

     But as Barry launched into the epic love story between a hero and his nemesis – Len occasionally adding his own commentary, though he largely let Barry have his fun, just enjoying the light in his eyes – neither was worried, telling their boy about their Bond in the middle of the Precinct. Because, for as annoying as their meddlesome sisters were, they were right. What they had was real; nothing, and no one, would be coming between that.

**Author's Note:**

> (Psst, anyone know how to make links in the beginning notes? I don't like having the full URL there but I don't know what to do...?)
> 
> Anyway, the ending probably isn't really Legends compliant, but who cares? It works if you don't overthink it. I just used my original speculation that Len would come back from season 1 as an anti-hero/hero so let's run with that.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
